Comics (Boarding House Days)

Corto Maltese

The periods between the finish of school and lining up for dinner, and between the end of homework and lights-out, were the best times for boarders. When we were little tykes, we’d play Cowboys and Indians. Later on, when short pants were “on their last legs” (what a momentous day it was when we sported our first pair of long strides), we would build model aeroplanes, cultivate radishes in the back paddock, and read “National Geographic” magazines in the library. We also managed to further (although that’s debateable) our meagre sex education by looking up “filthy” words in the large Oxford and Webster dictionaries on the library shelves. At night, we’d sit up in bed and read comics. Once read, they would be passed on to someone else. Any new comics were received with much joy. We loved our heroes: Batman, Captain Marvel, Mandrake, Dick Tracey, Tom Mix, and Mighty Mouse. Now, in this age of block-buster movies, TV and computer games, many of these famous names have been resurrected – plus others that we didn’t know about then, such as “Tin Tin” by the Belgian Georges Remi alias Hergé, and “Corto Maltese” by the Italian Hugo Pratt. I’d love to see Corto Maltese given the same film treatment as Tin Tin.